Steve's comment about poor visibility is key: We've had poor visibility for at least four years. Part of that is macro-economic; but the other more important part is there are no killer apps and may never be. But there are millions and millions of little apps--in the internet of things--that propel the industry forward. Much of that innovation comes from non-traditional customers, I'd suspect, who are now realizing the power of embedded systems to transform whatever they do. That's a good thing.

The economy is cyclical, technology is not. The key is to just keep innovating, because eventually, the fog will lift and people will expect these companies to have still been pushing the limits. There's a lot to be said for innovating your way out of a crisis